[♪ theme music ♪] >> john: good morning, this is the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill this morning and all week long. it will be a very exciting "bill press show." we'll be talking about benghazi and the scam that wasn't. we'll be talking about twinkies and how the main stream media

has failed to mention that it wasn't just unions that failed the company to go out of business. we'll talk about reince prebus gets to keep his job, and that and much more. but first let's to lisa ferguson. >> hey, john. good morning, everyone. president obama is on his way to cambodia. his first stop over the weekend was thailand and late last night, president obama became the first bt to ever visit mee you mar. he met with the national league of democracy there along with secretary of state hilary clinton. he spoke with the president and said his trip is not an endorsement of the new government, which is in the middle of a transition to

democracy, but he did praise the country for shaking off its military rule and press the government for more reform. obviously we're having a little bit of technical problems, but the president said the steps the president has taken for release of the prisoners and his commitment to work with the u.s. on human rights dialogue will unlease the incredible potential of that beautiful country. this is obama's first trip overseas since his reelection shows he is serious about shifting america's focus leastward. the two are continuing to fire rockets and israel has blamed hamas for does sends of arrests

since the violence started. more "bill press show" after the break. we'll be right back. here in our own country. >> it's an issue that ultimately effects each and every one of us. >> thats why current is stepping up. >> ... by feeding the needy. >>... feeding the needy. >>... feeding the needy. >>... feeding the needy. >>... feeding the needy. >> for an entire week we'll explore hunger, malnutrition >> ... and offer solutions. >> so join us here at current tv where together, we'll feed the needy. >> brought to you by the all new doge dart. >> doge: new rules. now imagine the worst case scenario. worse than that. [ woman screaming ] worse. that bad. [ lasers ] so now we need airbags. more airbags. perfect. give it smart brakes that excel in the wet. test it. test it. test it again. now put eyes in the back of its head. ditch the blind spot. [ lasers ] and that's how you make a car for an unsafe world. easy. ♪ ♪

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is right for you. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: good morning, this is the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill, and remaining you if you rearrange all of the letters in monday it spells ban-yo. >> mr. fugelsang thank you for coming back. >> john: it is all a pleasure to decimate bill's space. here is what happened susan rice

went on tv and said a bunch of cautious stuff based on talking points about how it looked like well-armed extremist took advantage of a protest. john mccain is calling rice stupid and accusing her of lying over and over again. would john mccain care about this if the comments hadn't happened during his show. if only she had been named condoleezza, she could have lied about anything and john mccain would have believed what she said. i count benghazi because to me it represents john mccain's last

dying gasp for credibility in his own party. you have john mccain and lindsay graham who are exploiting benghazi benghazi, and they are doing it to take republicans like them again. >> that's a good point. we knew this was going to happen during the election. but now that it is over, and obama won, in a land slide -- >> john: and it's par for the more to democrats to buckle. >> good point. but why are they still pushing this? >> because they are still running for president of benghazi gate. and the loss of the four americans was horrible but if george bush would have been president when this happened and

if any democrat ever dared criticize the president, december 8th, 1941, so it has been a while since we have actually been at war. and we want to know what you all think out there. call in to 866-55-press if you are some right-winger who has been fed a steady diet of benghazi please call us and explain what we're missing. as well we'll be talking about twinkies and whether their bankruptcy is a good thing or an honest thing, and the mideast

violence of course. we have great guests on the show, including public citizen energy director and edward isaac dovere. but i guess the real important story is that mc hammer came out and sang [ inaudible ] at the american music festival. >> is that what happened? >> john: yes. >> i can't wait to tell my grandchildren that this one-hit wonder cy went on with mc hammer. >> john: yes, cy came -- >> deep it going dan.

♪ >> john: cy came out and lip sinked. he is playing the studio version, and then mc hammer comes out and [ inaudible ] his third biggest hit -- >> this sounds like a train wreck. >> john: if you listen very very closely to this you can hear the founding fathers weep. and we'll be talking about david petraeus. because there is now a backlash of people saying why should he have to resign? the obvious answer is because he

is the biggest spy in america and spies get fired for less. but what do you think? if america needs him running the cia, if he can do for america what he did for afghanistan, why would you want him leaving? >> yeah. >> john: please feel free to give us a call at 866-55-press. dan it is in "full court press" time? >> you mentioned the american music awards they were handed out for the 40th consecutive year last night. just inn bieber was the night's big winner, nicki minaj, and carly jettison was named the new hit artist -- >> john: well it's like the four horseman of the apocalypse.

this is the prop here! read those names again. >> justin bieber nicki minaj, lincoln park -- >> john: lincoln park is an actual band. that is the only actual rock and roll artist. justin bieber, i believe plays some guitar. >> that's a stretch. >> john: well, i'm not saying he is neil young, i'm say heing plays guitar five times more than new kids on the block. if we were in prison together, i would want him as my cell mate. [ laughter ]

>> president obama became the first sitting american president to visit myanmar. mtv says the -- >> john: carly ray jebson. call me maybe, where she sounds like a 14 year old and she is 47, right? >> she is 26. >> is she really? >> discovered by justin bieber. >> john: wow that is great. any time we can have [ inaudible ] in the media that doesn't involve bonno telling a few concert goers to wear a mask --

>> yeah. it was nice. >> john: and we'll be talking more about the myanmar. because it's actually very controversial that a president went there. >> sure. >> and three astronauts returned safely to earth last night. three astronauts are still up there on what is now the 34th mission up there. >> say what you will about that kazakhstan space program, those mule-drawn rockets are really, really great. [ laughter ] >> they sit for a three hour trip to earth in a box smaller

than what i am sitting in now. >> john: it only takes three hours? >> they sit like locked in for like four hours twiddling their thumbs. the way the report was they closed the door at like 2:30 eastern, and at 5:30 or 6:00 they disconnected from the space station then they float this space for about an hour and then they fire the rockets and then glide back to earth, and they open the parachutes a couple of seconds late their lands spot is a couple of kilometers off. >> john: a very rare nighttime landing. >> yeah, in snow. it is winter there now.

>> i think it's winter 11.5 months out of the year. >> john: yeah. i'm going to read more about alex parian's piece. here is what he wrote about lindsay graham. senator graham is weighing in [ inaudible ] he is joining in the filibuster threat to making sure that everyone knows he blames barack obama for the attack in benghazi, and he said he is holding barack obama responsible for the attack. not for the response to the attack, for the actual attack. no one pays at attention to lindsay graham. he is basically hated by all republicans and democrats for different but equally valid

reasons. at the moment. he is pretending he has any role at all in budget-deal negotiations, that is a rich claim not just because no republicans respect for listen to lindsay gram but also because if there is an immigration bill he will almost certainly withdrawal his support from it at some point. the other important thing about lindsay graham is that he lied for years about being a war veteran. the faux scandal will not get the ridicule it so richly deserves. because the media is biased in favor of one thing. not left or right, but eyeballs. and whatever gets the most eyeballs watching, and if fox news decided that benghazi was terrible for ratings, it would

not be mentioned again. so i'm thrilled to be back. i got to take the train down with madeline albright last week. >> wow. >> john: and an iconic d.c. lawyer, and i'm sitting on a train car because i got bumped up to first class. uh-huh. first class train, they have those folks. and there is madeline albrighted. and all hands, i was go excited to meet her. and it was really awkward for me. she kept calling me her pet so it was very, very painful, but it is a thrill to be back, and i

was down south this weekend in north carolina where my mom just moved to i flew back yesterday with a live baby had to change planes in charlotte, so i had two flights with a live baby so i went from north carolina to charlotte, to new york went home changed clothes and then came down to dc. >> the thing about traveling with a live baby i have learned is you have to make sure you put air holes in the cardboard box. >> john: if you have air holes in there they stick their fingers out and then liberals notice, and start making a stinking about it. i don't understand why people have children. it was a novelty, but having a child so you can be the first one to board the train, kind of clever. we'll be right back after this.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show," live on your radio, and on current tv. ♪ dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

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that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning long. really happy to be here with you. i'll be here tomorrow and wednesday as well, wishing you a safe, healthy, and sane healthy shopping week. black friday is when the 1% tells the 99% to go shopping and fix the economy they wrecked. we want to know your thoughts on everything in the news today.

whenever i come here i always try to think about what the question for the day ought to be, and today it was too complicated. i would like to say what is your solution to mideast violence or should petraeus resign or what is your position on twinkies. thing god the "bill press show" has the greatest selection of smart callers, crazy callers and smart-crazy callers, which is win i call in every morning long. and i really am up at this time every morning because i have a baby. let's go to chris who is calling us from barry, vermont. good morning, chris. >> caller: good morning, guys, how are you doing this morning? >> great. >> i noticed the "new york times" has put an article out this morning that explains the

reason susan rice did not get the intelligence that it was an intelligence attack right away, is was the intel did not want to tip their hand to the fact that they had an eye on them. and the republicans knew this and this whole graham and mccain business is such nonsense. >> john: woe woe, woe! there is a terrorist attack and -- ed a the administration tried to find them and handle the situation instead of running around with their hair on fire? >> caller: that is absolutely right. >> john: i'm demand hearings. >> caller: during the bush administration there were some 53 lives lost in embassy

attacks. embassy work is dangerous and especially in that part of the world. >> john: it really is. can you imagine the republican outrage if ronald reagan sent troops to the middle east and hundreds were killed and reagan just cut and ran? >> caller: oh, absolutely. >> john: chris thank you for the call. benghazi is not going to go away, and that's why i'm so thankful for media outlets for -- well like what you have right here peter. >> we do what we can. >> john: we're taking your calls at 866-55-press, we'll be right back, talking about the the -- horror that is the

american music awards and much more. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>tax cuts don't create jobs. the golden years as the conservatives call them, we had the highest tax rates, and the highest amount of growth, and the highest amount of jobs. those are facts. >>"if you ever raise taxes on the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true!

♪ >> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill press show." i am not bill press, i'm john fugelsang. happy to be filling in with peter and dan and the whole crew. what are the comments. >> we're tweeting @bpshow, and chat with us live. cas says on republicans they have been privatizing everything

schools are now a viable market to china. marty says that's why they'll go the way of the wig party. daryle wrote mccain graham are like the two guys at the party who have had too much to drink and don't realize everyone else has left. >> john: the republican party has wall street, evangelical christians, and guys who really like tom clansy books, but go on. >> that's all we have right now. >> john: i have on the twitter machine, congress defunds security, and then criticizes the attacks. people are forgetting clinton was impeached and almost thrown out of office. a protest over video sparked

attack, but the video that looks like an act of terrorist sounds like a cover up to me. i want to know what you guys out there say to your right-wing coworkers always say why was our embassy in cairo attacked earlier that day. it was specifically where our embassy was stormed and the u.s. flag was torn down and an islamist flag was put in its place, and that's because an us -- islamic radio show host

talked about the movie and caused these riots all over the middle east. it's the hypocrisy stupid. on september 11th, 2001 we were attacked by terrorists, and we told united we stand, rally behind our commander in chief during wartime. in 2012, an attack happens overseas, four americans are killed and we are told the president is to blame, and it is being exploited again. in 2012 a ter rick attack is exploited for cheap political points. if any democrat had tried to

smear bush over 9/11, which we were warned about, but they would have lost their job forever, and yet nowadays it's open season. we want to know your thoughts at 866-55-press. pat is joining us from kansas missouri. good morning, >> caller: good morning, john how are you today? >> john: i'm better now. >> caller: my statement is in reward to the gop, which i hope is listening to your station today, as african american it is horrible that john mccain and lindsay graham to me are trying to take down the first black president and susan rice. my word for them is they should have term limited to get them out of office. they do no good in their position. >> john: you make some very good

points, pat. let me ask you a couple of questions. ronald reagan said he was against term limits when he left office, because he felt in america people should be allowed to pick the leaders they want. >> caller: i believe they should have the term limits because really -- and i'm speaking to you in my point i cannot speak for hispanics, but the majority of black people are looking at this, and never since the gop is going through -- would we help them. >> john: it's true. and this is what a lot of moderate republicans keep screaming about, that they are marginalizing themselves by doing this.

and making their party smaller ever year. thank you for your call. >> caller: thank you. >> john: let's play a clip. >> i find someone even as high-ranking, frankly as former president bill clinton to go and be the negotiator. we need a person of enormous prestige and influence so have these parties sit down together. we're crumbling all over the middle east. >> john: that was john mccain talking about how much work is needed to regain credibility. >> boy. that will hurt your head if you think about that too long. >> john: somebody should tell him we have already had bill

clinton trying to negotiate middle east peace. it has been attempted before and in fact the prime mainster of israel paid for it with his life. you know, i really think that there is no military solution to israel and palestine, and i'm on the side of any christian jew or muslim who is trying to solve our problems non-violently, because the only solution i think, is the next gandhi is going to have to come from israel or palestine. the next person to understand that non-violence is the only way to get social change out of a situation like this and that will also be a person male or female who understands social media and the digital age. i'm telling you, non-violence is the only way, and every missile

that israel launches makes it harder for them to have a safe future, and both sides are killing themselves in history. the international community is disgusted at this, but i would say this is only going to stop when someone on either side understands the principals of non-violence will be the force to do it. i would like to think that bill clinton could get on a plane and make it all better. i'm not sure he could. good morning kathleen. >> caller: these four people got killed before they said that some words was taken out of a report. they talking about -- al-qaeda was taken out and should have been put in. but what about the words that

bush and cheney spoke before thousands of people lost their lives? where was john mccain and lindsay graham and that stupid joe scarborough -- >> john: who? who? you mean shut up micah. >> caller: well, micah will sit there and act like she is scared. >> john: poo-poo, micah. thank god she was never married to ike turner because she never would have left. >> caller: we were still suffering from that lie that they told. >> john: yes! >> caller: where don't they get on that boo jazz! >> john: yes testify! jon mccain and lindsay graham

love war. as long as it's someone else's kids going off to do it, they love war. and it makes them look tough when their own party has no use for them. they are use any arrow or their quiver to build this up. >> caller: and john mccain ought to be the first one to cut this mess off, but he is mad because he lost that election. >> john: yes, john mccain crashed planes, and was given special treatment because of his father, but he did give his service. we have to give him that. we'll be right back. >> announcer: heard around the

country, and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." ♪ they're doing this this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot.

these talking points, that the right have, about the "heavy hand of government" ... i want to have that conversation. let's talk about it. really? you're going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. really? i want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and i'd like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table.

♪ >> announcer: this is the "full court press," the "bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >> john: good morning, this is

the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang. what a great honor it is to be here. joined by the great peter ogburn. >> we love having you here. >> john: thank you. it's awfully fun. and normally i come on after this show to go stephanie miller, so to be here for the early-morning slot -- any time i can come to d.c. is really a pleasure. >> any time i can get out of d.c. is really a pleasure. >> john: we can pass in the night. so much worthy of mocking, but i'm really really thrilled to welcome to the show reid wilson. reid it's a pleasure to have you

back. >> i don't get mocked? >> john: no you can suck-up-er-y. >> well, bill mocks me every time he is on. >> he drinks. >> john: it is not appropriate to talk about, but he drinks, and he depression -- everyone knows about his tormented relationship with lindsay lohan, and his time with the woo tang clan. >> and we'll be back after that nasty case about the stabbing of the hunting dog. but i'm sure it will be work out. >> john: the first thing i wanted to ask you about -- and i have a long list as a news nerd fan of yours -- explain this to

me -- the rnc, if a black guy leads the rnc to huge wins he is out. if a white guy leads the rnc to huge losses, he is fine. am i right? >> yeah. the committees are surprisingly weak right now. this is sort of an unintended consequence of the mccain finegold administration. so even for a campaign finance reform fan people -- some of the people who in favor of

campaign finance reform -- >> john: is that the committees or citizen's united. >> it was the legislation that limited the amount of money that an individual could give to the parties in to what we call hard money. the money that can be spent on campaign elections and contributions of $25,000 for a campaign, and at $5,000 for the candidate. so the mccain, finegold limbed the campaign to that hard money. instead of the soft money where they could maintain their building. so the parties have become little more than fund-raising

vehicles. they don't do these sorted of things that now the outside groups get to do, which means the ads we see are paid for organizations like an america for a better america, and forth, and the democrats put up that message -- >> john: but the purpose is still to raise money to wine and dine and woo voters, right? >> it is. it is to sort of build the done for base and the national party organization. it is not so much to get people elected. so it's not entirely fair to say that the current -- the current

rnc chairman is responsible for democratic wins or losses in the house and senate. >> john: could you say howard dean deserves a lot of credit? >> i think he does. the big thing the dnc does is they put staffers in places like alaska and kansas -- and by the way democrats won seats -- won a house seat in kansas and governorships in weird places where they don't usually -- some people give howard dean credit for puts staffers where they don't normally go. but it is more of a ground-game operation, and that is a 10 or 15-year project rather than a

simple two-year organization. >> john: reid we have to go to break, can you stick around? >> absolutely. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ buy now. save later.

>>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. they're doing this this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot.

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning long. on line is reid wilson. reid the gop governors are pretty happy with the health and human services secretary. can you explain why?

>> yes she has delayed a deadline by which states have to decide whether to take a state change or take a federal change. they say they are state in name only because all of the requirements are national. so this is a bit of a win for republicans because they actually get to take a little more time and design their own exchanges. >> john: thank you so much. >> thank you, john. >> john: we'll be right back after this. ♪ where to dump their trash. [ laughter ] >> bill: pile up your trash and cake it down to the kkk highway. >> they may have swayed me with that one. sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong.

we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our

[♪ theme music ♪] >> john: you ever notice how the same people who want to stop obamacare are the came people who want to [ inaudible ]. good morning you are watching the "bill press show." it's a pleasure to be here. we're going to be covering of course all of the major news that americans care about like

tweakkys, and the twilight films. now it's time to go to the brilliant and loomous lisa ferguson for a current news update. >> hey john. good morning, everyone. many members of congress are already off on thanksgiving holiday, but the fiscal cliff is looming, and washington will need to strike a deal in the next week and a half if they want to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts. john boehner is asking to outline a plan and get fellow republicans on board. ryan will likely be under the most pressure to back away from his conservative politics. his run for vp no doubt brought him some new-found respect and

political clout amongst his colleagues. they say they will confident they will be able to reach some sort of a deal by the engineer of the deal, they need to be at an impasse when it comes to taxes. they said any deal to reduce the deficit should come through pro-gross reforms. that means things like lowers rates, and closing loopholes. >> just to close loopholes is far too little money, and they have said they weren't it to be revenue neutral. the president has been very clear, that the higher-income people have to pay their fair share. >> that means no deal from the democrats if republicans will not agree to raise taxes on the wealthy, but pelosi says she is

optimistic. more john coming up after the break. stay with us. ♪ created ad message for little caesars who proudly salutes unites states veterans everywhere. >> hi, i'm rick loz. i joined the united states air force in 1987. as i was leaving the service i went into a civilian career for a little bit but i was looking for a little bit more than what the civilian career had to offer me and that's when learned about the little caesars veterans program. the little caesars veterans program helps the veterans transition to civilian life. they give them credits and discounts on the things that they are going to need to help open a new store. it was a program that they were just starting to kick off and i got the honor of being the very first veteran. i have three kids and boy, they were very happy to help out. i had one as a cashier, one worked a some of the other stations making pizza in the back. they really enjoyed owning a

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i ♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: i wish general petraeus the best, peter, i really do. now he can enjoy crazy opportunistic sex with women in the private sector. oh we're back. hello, i'm john fugelsang. it's a great thrill to be here yet again today. we're taking your calls again at

866-55-press. we want to know what you think america, we will be talking about hostess, and much more and taking your calls as well on all things petraeus benghazi, and twinkies but first -- it is the "full court press." >> president obama gave john boehner a birthday president on friday. he gave the speaker a bottle of tuscon red wine some speculate it's a reference to the last big by partisan deal between president clinton and congress.

>> john: first off in the big book there is a term for that enabling. >> really? does he like the sauce? >> john: and don't you go talking about john boehner jokes making fun of all orange americans. that was quite a year 1997 that was the year bill clinton was sworn in for his second term. the budget agreement -- absolutely however, people want to forget right after bill clinton had that, what did they do? impeach him for his personal life. >> some awkward moments in upstate new york -- >> i love this story. >> they learned the district attorney for the county admitted to acting in pornographic movies back in the 1970s.

he is the da for syracuse and said he wanted to clear the air that he had acted in pornos including a millment called "the love witch." >> john: and nixon passed that law, if you are going to be in porns in the 70s, you had to have a big, big bushy mustache. they have to make a porn parity about this guy. they'll call it approach the bench or something. [ laughter ] >> john: yes, and fox will cover a lot -- do a lot of stories on it. >> and somebody could win a nice chunk of change this weekend. wednesday's drawing worth an estimated $250 million.

>> john: that's fantastic and the lottery, you know, is for education. it teaches poor people how to stay poor. >> don't you forget it. >> john: and wait until republicans privatize social security and we can get all of our payments in scratch-off games. i know you guys take a lot of flak from the right-wing haters. i get a lot of tweets on the twitter machine who are very unhappy about the amount of paper that is wasted on this show. you should be watching this show on current all of the time even if your car. when there is a caller dan writes the name on a piece of

paper. it's not about wasting paper, when dan does this he and i don't have to look each other in the face. [ laughter ] >> john: and everyone knows of our tortured friendships, it is full of scarlets and coke and it's really so we don't have to look at each other -- actually -- >> it is old scrap wizard that has already been used once. and we recycle it so it is twice-used paper, and then we recycle it again in the blue box. we put it on the back of what has already been used. >> john: it's like mitt romney's money in the caymans except it

is only used understand. you just threw out the caller's name. >> that's because it was old -- >> wait a minute we never got to that call so that was a waste of paper! >> john: and he lied to me! and this is why i don't want to see your face while i'm filling in on this show so cover it up! >> we just gave a whole tutorial about how we don't waste paper -- >> no, this was a call from three weeks ago. >> john: you see this folks? he has three week's worth of paper in there, and dan also clubs his own baby sales for those little purses he sells.

>> i do. >> john: you don't exploit labor, you do that yourself. >> yes. >> now dan go open the window to the office and throw all of those papers out on to the street like you normally do. [ laughter ] >> john: diane finestein was on the news yesterday. and they asked her about benghazi, because i would say senator feinstein has consistently supported the president. but let's listen. >> what has concerned me about this is the politicalization that has been out. i have read every one of the five interviews susan rice did that day.

she was within the context of that statement, and for this she has been pillarried for two months. >> john: indeed she was. again, i think that diane feinstein has been consistent. here is one more clip. >> for me personally this is a heart break. i respect david petraeus, and his 37 years of service to our country. i respect this great intellect that he has. where he can speak literally on dozens of subjects. various military tactics and he is one of our brightest and our best. there is no counter to that. >> john: and there is the requisite sucking up to general petraeus. i think it's possible to respect

general petraeus's service and devotion and intelligence while still acknowledging the fact that afghanistan was a bloody mess, and his great success with the surge in iraq came from brides and getting the sunnies and cheikh to engage in another civil war. he rearmed saadam hussein's people. what a patriot, and so i think in the case of general petraeus we can acknowledge he has done a lot for the country, but we can also say iraq is not the tidy christmas present with bows.

now sachs b -- saxby chsndles who [ inaudible ] here he is, where else fox news sunday. >> everybody there was asked do you know who made these changes? and nobody knew. the only entity that reviewed the talking points was the white house. >> john: it is boring at this point. please, if you are out there and you really really believe in this scandal, please call us and let us know why. president obama went to berma, myanmar, and met with their

president and the noble peace-prize winner recently released from house arrest. >> obama: i'm proud to be the first american president to visit this spectacular country, and i'm pleased that one of my first stops is to visit with an icon. >> john: again it's interesting when you consider how tied our economy will be to asia's to the next 100 years, it's nice to not here any republicans so far smearing the president for going overseas. but again, it's not really news twinkies. >> you had to bring up twinkies. >> john: i did because everyone is bringing up twinkies, which

some people are even bringing up to chris christie. let's listen. >> you think you are getting behind this microphone having me talk about twinkies this is a setup, man. [ laughter ] >> no, no no. it's bad that i even said the word twinkie. [ laughter ] >> john: if you follow the main stream media, you know your children will never get ho hoes or chalk-oh-dials or any other -- completely healthy hostess product again.

the union has forced to shut the company down cut the pensions and then sell the recipe to the highest bidder all of these people are due for a real dose of reality, and again, it's all the unions fault, right? >> absolutely. >> john: let's listen to mark freeson. >> if they want to work for less wages and no pension, hey, who am i to say. we're say standing up there fighting for your pension and everybody who has a pension. >> john: let's talk about the fact that while hostess was trying to cut the baker's pay by 8%, and their benefit's pay by 32%, the ceo gave himself a 300% raise, again, this is while failing their second bankruptcy

raised his salary to $2.5 million a year. these guys were luting the treasury. nine executives received 60% to over 100% raises while filing their second bankruptcy and they stopped paying into the employees pension owing over $160 million. $36 million, $75 million debtor in possession loan -- this comes from the "new york times" after years of mismanagement and being loaded down with debt by private equity firms. folks there is nothing sweet about it.

you have been lied to. this is the "bill press show." we'll be right back after this. >> announcer: this is the "full court press," the "bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. ♪

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♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: the [ inaudible ] did not steal the song -- they were inspired by the stones. [ inaudible ] the melody was a little bit like constant craving -- >> i'll get the audio, you will hear the resemblance. that song is 15-years old this

year bittersweet symphony. this is the "bill press show," we're your politics and classic rock nerds. and we get your tweets, and when i host this show, i just get the coolest people tweeting me. we need to close bases, prison reform, stop the war on drugs, that could balance the deficit -- the system forces them to beg for money for never-ending campaigning, and that is over three tweets by the way. >> that is certainly more than the character limit. joyce is a fan of yours.

she is in her 70s. she said i love john fugelsang. he gives me a tingle up my leg, i have a hard time criticizing petraeus, because john does the same thing to me. joyce in her 70s is hot for john fugelsang. it's actually emailing that anthony weaner did. but any man who emails pictures of his manhood to women doesn't deserve camera email, manhood or women. >> just delete a couple of pictures off of my moan. >> john: first off guys one rule about the net any woman that you have never met that wants to see pictures of your

manhood already has manhood of her own. >> it's a trap. >> john: it's a trap. no woman will actually see your manhood another lonely man will be looking at it. secondly if women want to see your manhood, they will tell you that. and women if you want to see a man's manhood just tell him. >> yeah. >> john: we're taking your calls at 866-55-press. it's the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill press show." i am john fugelsang filling in for bill this morning, and all day tomorrow and all day the next day, along with the great peter ogburn and the almost as great dan henning in the booth. >> i like that. he isless filling. >> he is less filling. and you taste great. >> that's true. >> john: i am very happy to welcome our next guest to the show. he covers climate change coal oil, frac-ing and advocates for decentralized renewable energy for working families and

promotes refocusing such incentives away towards energy efficiency, tyson why do you hate freedom and the private sector so much? [ laughter ] >> i think we all pay enough money to big fossil fuel companies and the technology is here for us to be generating our own energy. >> john: when did anti-pollution become big business? >> when they decided to take tack ads designing energy solutions on their terms so that we find out all about why producing oil is a great thing for america because it is sponsored by exxon mobil, when

really the best thing to do is to get off of our fossil fuel habit. >> john: the best thing for earth to do. >> absolutely. >> john: i even think when satan gets board he watches frank luntz for porn and i really think that when it comes to -- of all of the sinister talking points we have gotten used to, i think satan reaches his peak when we get to how the right-wing manages to demonize those fighting for clean air. but when it comes to the

demonization of a clean ecology, and how we lost the word pollution, we lost the term poison, so i'm always indebted to the work you and others do for recalibrating the national psyche. >> in 2012 the largest fossil fuel producer on the planet is the united states. we're talking about pulling, coal oil, natural gas out of the planet. the united states is the third-largest oil producer in the world, and we're the second-largest coal producer so when you convert that into btu and put it all together there is no other country on earth that produces more.

remember, oil is trading at what, 90 $95 a barrel. you do the math. that's a lot of oil being produced on a daily basis. so we have the fossil-fuel industry that doesn't exist in other countries, for example, germany. germany has had stronger gdp growth in the united states. they have 630% more installed solar capacity than in the united states, and in may of this year germany produced half of its electricity needs from solar. >> john: now why? why are our european friends so far ahead of us on this? >> because you don't have the end -- en trenched interest groups. it makes getting room for come

feeting superior technologies like renewables a little bit more difficult -- >> john: so there is not a right-wing propaganda channel with fake blonds? >> yes. and even china who is still committed to fossil fuels, but any country with an industrial base understands that the future of merchandising, the future of energy production is going to be renewables, not fossil fuels, and any country that begins to invest today is going to be ahead tomorrow in terms of patents, and job creation and consumers benefit when we have

decentralized clean energy. >> john: and that's what president obama said three years ago now when he went to address all of the republicans and said, look, the rest of the world is going this direction. and they have punished him for it mercilessly. do oil and gas and frac-ing execs laugh when they hear republicans say this president hates drilling? >> i think they do. because this administration actually had been accommodating to fossil fuel interests. they haven't given away the store like we saw in the bush administration, and republicans have criticized obama for a delay in issuing federal permits for drilling. >> john: uh-huh. >> but remember in april of

2010, we had the deep water horizon incident, right? where because of mismanagement and gross negligence on the part of a foreign oil industry -- >> john: and let's give haliburton credit too. >> absolutely. and you have trans-ocean who used to be a u.s. corporation, and then they left to avoid paying taxes. you have three companies who as i wrote last year appear to hate america. because haliburton moved its incorporation to the middle east as well. but bottom line is the delays in permits wasn't because of a crazy environmentalist in the obama administration it was because a private corporation could not handle its own business affairs.

>> john: right. and this was discussed in the third presidential debate. >> right. and the president didn't make a forceful enough case to say listen we had the largest environmental and industrial disaster in american history that was caused by gross negligence by a private corporation, and the other oil executives admitted they didn't have a plan to deal with a deep-water blowout either. none of these oil companies had a plan if something bad happened a mile under the -- the ocean. >> john: i know what their plan is. their plan is to blame environmentalists. >> yes. >> john: because environmentalists don't want shallow water drilling they have pushed for deep-water drilling, and therefore, there is no infrastructure to solve

easily -- sarah palin actually blamed bp on environmentalists, which is like blaming smart people for sarah palin, so before we move any further, tell me what the obama administration has gotten right in the first term? >> they pushed aggressively for federal action on climate change because he campaigned on it in 2008, saying that the government could collect proceeds for a permit -- >> john: originally republican concepts. >> that's correct. and then he was going to create what we claim -- he had about $15 billion left over a year that he was going to spend on renewable energy investment and deployment. on the in the sausage making

that is congress we put together a climate bill which had a lot of flaws but at least congress was talking about the science of climate change and then it got bogged down in the senate, and then we had the midterm elections in 2010 where the science of climate change was questioned because like the tobacco companies used to question the science on the health and dangers in smoking, so we had this huge campaign organized to demonize science in the united states. >> john: shocking. >> the administration, i think did what they could. they showed a lot of leadership and i think we'll see a return to the talk about climate change. >> john: can you stick around for another segment? >> absolutely. >> john: we'll be right back with your calls.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press," the "bill press show," live on your radio, and on current tv. ♪ >>oh really? >>"if you ever raise taxes on >>the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true!

>>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. do you share the sense of outrage that they're doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. understatement, so explain to me why that is. i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa.

♪ >> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress, this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> john: this is the "bill press show," and tyson you have to come on here more often, because when you are here man, the twitter machine lights up. >> we're getting lots and lots of comments not only on twitter but on our chat room. broken constitution says

unfortunately getting us off of fossil fuels exactly like getting a junky off of dope. also on twitter, we're tweeting @bpshow. rusty canyon says tyson is singing my song. >> john: and i love america and believe in our future. and mick writes for -- now tyson here is my question. i turn on the tv and i see the pocket catheter guy by the way i want his agent, and then i see bp celebrating how the gulf is

better than ever and we're lucky that whole thing happened because bp actually made the gulf a better place. >> bp is one of the worst corporate criminals in history -- >> john: i saw something on tv tyson, don't contradict that. i'm so sick of this and it seems like they are spending more money on how great they are in helping the gulf than actually helping the gulf. >> it's going to take more than a generation to understand the damage that has done to the ohco system. but they were on criminal probation at the time of the deep-water horizon incident for

two past egregious acts one was in 2005 when 15 workers died bp pled guilty, paid a fine and put on probation. and then they have the alaska pipeline disaster. everyone has forgotten that they paid a fine and were put on probation. and then they get a brand new ceo who same in for the principal job of cleaning up bp -- >> john: in between yacht races. >> exactly. and we have 11 people that die, and this criminal settlement is terrible for the american taxpayer and justice. >> john: however, a $4 billion penalty. >> you might see a couple of

fewer ads taughting their wonderful record -- >> john: or less christmas bonuses for employees. >> exactly. but the fine -- they get to pay it in installments over five years. they are going to earn more money from the taxpayer from that contract than they are going to pay out each year in the criminal penalty. so they are like we're going to pay for it more than just with our -- an individual or corporation should not be receiving government contracts, but under the settlement bp is not automatically be barred. you can learn more at

citizen.org. >> john: you wrote the point of the criminal justice system is twofold, to punish and deter this does neither. really the $4 billion penalty you write is equivalent to just a fifth of the company's profits. >> that's right, and eleven american workers lost their lives because of gross negligence. the company pled guilty to felonies related to those 11 deaths, and all they have to do is open up their checkbook and write a check. that is an outrage. two individuals are being charged with involunteer manslaughter, but the corporation has been shown to have a pattern of this type of behavior, so you have to have

sanctions, and the sanctions are debarring it from its federal contracts and to limit or restrict their ability to continue to get federal access. >> john: is any oil from keystone going to stay in america? >> no, it will be exported. >> john: what a pleasure to have you, tyson. >> it was my pleasure. >> john: thank you we'll be right back with more of the "bill press show" right after this. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv this is the "bill press show." ♪

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> come on. >> john: this is not thievery, this is -- >> what would you call this? >> john: i would say artist borrowing. what we're listening to folks out there in bill press radio land this is the version of rolling stone's "last time," and this is apparently loosely what the [ inaudible ] >> this is what they got in trouble for, when they admitted that they took music that wasn't theirs. and they -- they had to say, well, look we stole -- >> john: and this is why

jagger/richards has a song-writing credit on -- >> exactly. >> john: and the same thing happened one year later when [ inaudible ] stone's best albums, but anybody seen my baby was said to be a rip off of katie lang's constant cavings. >> and now my head hurts. >> john: we'll be right back in the next hour with president [ inaudible ] and edward [ inaudible ] plus talking about twinkies benghazi, and pa tray ares, all coming up next.

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[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> john: [ inaudible ] coming to you on current tv. i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill. always a pleasure here on current, the only network that matters, and we're talking about a lot of important things today, of course including general petraeus benghazi and hostess.

now to lisa ferguson. >> as the death toll rising in the middle east, president obama is formally backing israel's right to defending itself. those assaults are still going on today with dozens of missiles reigning down on israel. president obama addressed the situation for the first time yesterday, saying no country will tolerate missiles attacking its citizens from outside of his boarders. international leaders are calling for a cease fire. and the secretary general is heading to the region to personally call for the violence to stop. back at home protesters are

asking president obama to reject the keystone pipeline. the pipeline would start in canada, running all the way through the gulf of mexico. while the president has not specifically rejected the plan, he has said we should avoid approving it too quickly. activists say the issue has become much bigger than the pipeline itself and represents the entire future. 2012 will likely be the hottest year on record w with hurricane sandy hitting right before the presidential election, we are seeing renewed interest in global warming. more john fugelsang coming up after the break. stay with us. you're about to watch an viewer

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♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning long and i would just like to say when david petraeus first told the cia analysis folks that [ inaudible ] like a top hat, they completely had the wrong idea. i'm so thrilled to welcome our next guest. it is really a thrill for me to be able to welcome you here as a fill-in host during a -- well it ain't what you would call a slow news week, joe. >> i'm happy to run it down with

you. >> john: well, thank you. first the president's trip to asia because to me in such a bleak news area from overseas i want to believe that this is really, really positive. seeing them both stand close together for a photo, is incredible. >> the first president to ever visit myanmar, the intention of the visit is twofold, to encourage this transformation for democracy, and so just going there has encouraged the rulers to increase more political

disdense. second, it's of course geopolitical. this is part of his trip to thailand and berma. >> john: what do you give to the pace of reform to? it's one thing to say the internet, but when you look at how fast it is speeding up now? >> it's isolations that were crippling this country. all they had was china in their corner, it just doesn't enough. and then there were the sweeteners, the us made clear if you do this, we will extend the aid. both the pressure and the incentives seem to have instruct the right balance.

>> john: so what you are saying is both sanctions and smart carrot and stick diplomacy works? >> exactly. it had to be a combination and it worked. >> john: it certainly did. it seemed like for so long the only people keeping the flame alive were [ inaudible ] and bono. >> yes, she is now a member of parliament, and it was inspiring to see the president and secretary of state visiting there. and they understand there is a long time to go. she herself issued a warning, saying we have to be very careful. so everybody is clear-eyed about

this, and moving forward with the same combination of pressure and incentives. not all of the sanctions are lifted yet. >> john: but it does seem like america and her allies have managed to relatively non-violently begun to bring about social reform. >> yeah. >> john: i remember there was a movement that pepsi was profited off of berma. >> right. and there are still ethnic classes on the region. >> john: so were you as surprised as i was that the president went to cambodia? >> cambodia is more repressive than berma is now, and we'll see what the president has to say.

we'll see if his remarks with pointed, encouraging cambodia to take the same path. >> john: are you surprised there hasn't been a lot of criticism of this president from the right? >> there is business interests here as well. these countries are not major trade partners, but there are investment opportunities here and mostly the right likes the balancing act against china. that the united states is offering these countries an alternative support structure, not exactly an alliance but a way to give them space. >> john: and that's what it is all about. we see criticism of this trip from the left of course -- >> yeah. >> john: i want to see the

president go to the worst places in the world. i would like to see the president go to tehran i think it's a time for radical peace and efforts to non-violent answers to the world's problems. >> yes. and we'll see what happens in cambodia, and the next two months is a critical time for negotiations with the us. if we are going to get a deal it is probably going to happen between now and january/february and there are some signs of progress tehran has indicated it is willing to bilaterally meet with the un --

>> john: really? i have never heard about this on fox news. >> well it is showing a little bit of ankle. [ laughter ] >> john: iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon or have one any time soon, but this is good business for the right-wing hate machine, of course and to try to stop any progress from happening between the us and ironian nations. a lot of people don't know it was our cia that help put in this monstrous shaw machine. >> in 1953 they were moving on the path we say we wanted them to move on now. well, they were there. >> john: yeah. >> the u.s. and the british intelligence agencies overthrew

them much on the fact that they didn't like the oil. >> john: and this is under eisenhower. >> yes. >> john: we're still paying for this policy of 1953 -- >> and the [ inaudible ] brothers. >> john: hey. >> and at that period we were doing that frankly all over the world. >> john: yeah, sure. >> in avenue ka we were putting down movements. >> john: but theory -- history lesson is by putting in this dictator who hated hi own people. and then they became mega religious conservatives and we're all paying the pricer for it. >> there is a clear-eyed view of

what america standing for, and a ground swell of goodwill there. you would meet people on the street. people who worked at the former us air base there, who liked america. they still like our culture -- jov yes, and our entertainment and technology, but not our politics. >> yeah. yeah. >> john: that was what was interesting to me, all of these people saying let's nuke these people who were suddenly saying let's make a deal with tehran. >> you talk about myanmar, the sanctions we put on them looks

like a warm-up. they are not stopping the program, but working to bring iran back to the negotiating table. >> john: i heard a stat that over 60% of the ironian population was under age 35. >> and 50% are unemployed so that is a ticking time bomb. >> john: we hear a lot about their president [ inaudible ]. [ laughter ] >> john: and i'm of the theory they sound this guy on tehran

craigslist. but he is essentially a powerless figure head. >> that's right. the right-wing puffed this guy to be the next hitler. well, no he is not. he doesn't control foreign policy or security apparatus and then the riff has deepened over the last year. he is essentially powerless. and he will be out and a new kid will be in. >> john: that's how it was like when i was a kid. it's a straw man for our right-wing media. >> yeah, you don't see hitlers being edged out of power and

then voted out of office. >> john: no. and this brings us to what is happening right now. how do you feel the american media is covering this story so far? >> actually pretty fairly. i see them alternateing the destruction. it seems to be pretty balanced coverage so far. >> john: yeah i been surprised to see the destruction so far. >> yes. there has been over 100 killed in gaza and there is more media access to gaza now. partly because of the change in the arab world. a couple of years ago, the

allies were iran and china, and now each have turned to their side. our allies in the region are really taking the side of hamas and trying to broker a cease fire. >> john: can you stick around one more segment? >> sure. >> john: all right. we'll be right back. >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show," now on current tv. ♪

♪

>> announcer: chatting with you, live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show" live on the record and current tv. >> john: i would like the record to note that i knew what this song was before we started. >> you did. >> john: and i want to welcome one of my favorite guests on the show. food on the line dynamite pressers, and number 2, i get so interview my favorites. peter go ahead. >> i look forward to the nasty

email that joe is going to send me later on. >> who was this guy? [overlapping speakers] [ laughter ] >> john: we were talking about the middle east and the horrible loss of life on both sides. the beth of civilians does not does -- notdy men in addition the tragedy. when we see things like his son in an op-ed arguing that israel needs to step up its strikes on gaza, we need to flatten all of gaza. one can hate though things that

hamas has done and the lives that hamas has taken. and my dream is that the next gandhi will come from palestine or israel and know how to use social media and an iphone. there is no military solution to this. >> that's exactly right. history has shown that strikes like this rally the population around them. there is this belief in israel that you just have to strike so hard at your opponent that they won't dare strike at you again. it just doesn't work that way. and everybody back's israel's right to defend itself. if some group were firing rockets at the united states, we would go after them so it's a question of proportionalty.

but it's a question of how do you go after them. >> john: but we know long-term it doesn't help israel. however, does it strength the electability of politicians? >> i don't think it's about this, was netenyahu was in a pretty strong position any way, but it certainly helps. there tends to be a rise in support around whoever the leader of israel is. we have elections coming up very soon. and in any event this will enhance his election prospects. >> john: i agree, and it's so discouraging, and i know so much of the world is so sick of it. >> yeah. >> john: and isn't the only key to israel's long-term prosperity

an independent palestinian state. >> it is. any time you step up against who -- the palestinian leader you think is being difficult, you get a worse leader. look at what we have done over the years, every stage has produced a more radical leadership. >> john: you are right. it is such a pleasure. >> hey john any time. and we'll be right back on the "bill press show." ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

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♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill press show," i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning here on your radio, internet and current tv. and i'm really thrilled about this next guest, "politico"'s deputy white house editor, and he is following the petraeus hearings as good as anybody can. i know that a lot of comedians were happy about the petraeus affair, and it was a national humiliation on the opening of

the new james bond films that the biggest spy in america has to resign from having sex with one person. but did we learn anything? >> the testimony on the hill was not focused on the affair obviously, and petraeus had to answer why that was in the backdrop, but really the hearings were focused on benghazi and what happened there. >> john: we have been talking extensively this morning about benghazi and the outrage or faux outrage, and the ongoing attempts to exploit benghazi to keep themselves relevant in their own party, were you surprised about petraeus's testimony? >> we only have the accounts from the people who were in the

closed hearings but they seemed to be relatively put at ease by it. many republicans say there are many more questions that are here and waiting for the answers. >> john: it certainly seems like he defended susan rice. >> well, there were talking points that petraeus signed off on, and we know that those talking points are revised from what they really new, and that there was a question of which intelligence they were putting out, and how they were going about it, so that raises the question of why. petraeus said it was because they were concerned about making

sure nobody was seeing how deep the intelligence was, making sure the groups that they were monitoring didn't realize they were being monitored but republicans are saying there are still questions to be raised here, why since rice said something that was contradictory, how could that have been the right thing to do? >> john: did it include the video which spawned many demonstrations throughout the middle east that day? >> the talking points did ultimately lead susan rice to say there were spontaneous demonstrations that lead to violence and did not name

al-qaeda or any of the other groups that the intelligence might be tracking. >> john: right we know that was the reason for our attack on egypt. we know there were demonstrations throughout the middle east because a tv show has been showing the trailer. did the state department just get bad intel? i'm having a difficulty understanding the right-wing theory of what kind of cover up there could have been. >> we know she basically read when she did her round of sunday talk show appearances the weekend after the attack. we know what that intelligence said at least the unclassified version of it that were given out after the hearings on friday

said, and it is exactly what she said on tv but that leads to the question of where that intelligence came from or why the talking points were constructive in that way. >> john: this is where i think it gets confused for conservatives and liberals the talking points came from the cia, right? >> yes but petraeus said the talking points were not representative of everything they knew. >> john: isn't the most likely explanation is they were trying to handle things discretely and between libya and the u.s. authorities try to get the perpetrators while also not running around with their heads on fire and have this blow up into an even more violent conflict? >> sure. and the idea here is the people

involved in this attack are obviously not a well-organized army, and there was a lot of confusion going on but there was also a lot of care being taken to make sure they were monitoring this groups going forward, and they didn't want to blow up their contacts and their -- their ways of getting intelligence on the activities of these groups. >> john: exactly. >> so that what seems to be the argument or explanation coming out from the cia. >> john: i don't mean to seem extra slow on this, but fox news has required this out of me. it does seem like susan rice said this might have been caused by the video, but because barack obama didn't say terror enough

in the rose garden that that is the root of the controversy. >> that is part of it. but why the talking points that susan rice was given were not more specific. was it really just an intelligence decision? was there a political decision involved? obviously when this happened it was september 11th and the there was terrorist attack and the president was running for reelection, was that all in the side room? >> john: right on. what is your take on john mccain's role he has given himself in this investigation? >> he has gotten himself involved in a way that is very active, i think is the only nice way to say it. he has taken on a role as chief

antagonist in the white house about this. and it has put him out even greater than those in his own party, the usual trio is mccain, graham and joe lieberman doesn't exist on this. and you have the senator from georgia saying he is not ready for the water gate style hearings on this. >> john: i get your impression from your colleagues on this the counter conventional wisdom seems to be this is john mccain and lindsay graham who are not exactly beloved by their own party, exploiting benghazi to

their own eminnocence. >> john mccain is obviously a candidate for president, and i'm not sure jumping up and down on this one issue or any issue would increase his eminence or prominence in a major way, but he from the get-go has been very, very involved in libya stuff in general, and criticizing the administration for its response to the benghazi attacks in particular. >> john: and he defended moammar gadhafi under president bush. >> right. and in the time since he has taken a very involved stance to what is going on in libya and wants to have a way of going

about things that is very different from what president obama has been saying sometimes, and has called for more involvement, it seems that most of the time whatever president obama is saying john mccain has a different opinion. >> john: really quickly, paula was shown in an interview in a speech he is gave and talked about the fact that there were prisoners there. and there is the discussion that is the one connection between the affair and benghazi. >> what we're seeing so far from the scandal is that it has taken on soap opera proportions that nobody would have really anticipated and twists and turns

into what the relationships were. the intelligence that she had and how she was accessing information, that seems like it will keep coming out. >> john: yeah. >> and i think it's too early to guess what it is that she might have known, because this story, we have learned that once we think we know what it is 24 hours later, it is exploited into some totally different tangent. >> john: thank you so much for your time on the "bill press show." we'll be right back taking your calls after this message. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar.

>>current will let me say anything.

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(vo) cenk uygur is many things. >>oh really? >>tax cuts don't create jobs. the golden years as the conservatives call them, we had the highest tax rates, and the highest amount of growth, and the highest amount of jobs. those are facts. >>"if you ever raise taxes on the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true! ♪

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> john: this is the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill. i'll be here all morning. what a news day it has been. we have already covered petraeus, and benghazi, and hostess, it's a good thing chris christie gives us one more thing to talk about this week. he did make an appearance on "saturday night live" over the weekend and drudge is already fuming about it. the new republican past time next to for getting mitt romney ever exists if you are an angry republican you get to display all your anger on to chris christie. >> how is clean up going?

>> pretty good. but fortunately new jerseyians are known for their patience. >> they are? >> yes, how many times have i said it? >> once. >> once is enough. get the wax out of your ears. >> john: and now they are mocking obama for embracing a nobel peace prize -- >> hugs not drugs, people. >> john: how dare he hug on her. christie clowns on snl as residents suffer. chris christie is being punished by the right-wing not because he didn't mention mitt romney in his speech for the first 15 minutes at the rnc, and that was the thing, how can you do that and claim that's the reason you

lost the election. >> i give the obama administration a ten for that. chris christie did okay. you were a bit hard on him dan. >> he did all right. >> politicians i will say never funny on snl -- >> george mcgovern in the 80s. >> okay. but they rarely ever deliver the lines -- >> john: jesse jackson. >> you are right. >> the jesse jackson green eggs and ham. >> john: he hosted a game show where he negated ever answer. i think the '80s will go down as the golden peak. nancy pelosi went on "this week" to talk about the tax-raising

issue. here she is. >> you cannot go forward -- you have to cut some investments if you cut too many you are hampering growth education, and investment in the future so just to close loopholes is far too little money. if it's going to bring in revenue, the president has been very clear that the higher-income people have to pay their fair share. >> john: not only has he been clear about this. he was clear about it in 2008. barack obama ran in 2008 just like bill clinton ran in '92, saying -- all barack obama wanted to do was to let the bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire right? so number 1, the american people voted for this so barack obama

has run on this twice, and he didn't get it done in the first term, but don't ever forget this is not obama's tax increase this is bush's tax increase my friends, this minor three-point hike was supposed to go into effect in 2010 the bush tax cuts were designed to run for ten years and then expire it's bush's tax increase, nobody else's and really where is the money? >> yes. >> john: am i wrong on this peter? >> no, you are not. >> john: this is what america's voted for twice now, and this is what bush promised. this is what the republicans designed. we don't have a deficit problem. we have a revenue problem. >> a lot of people on our side of the aisle gave barack obama a lot of grief because he wasn't

strong enough -- >> yeah, liberals were terrible to him. >> sure. so like it or not he has a mandate. how does he handle this second term? does he come out and say i will not accept anything less than bloom. >> john: yeah, is he going to get to be like the progressive, like the strong leader? a lot of people are hoping he is going to pull this mask off and his [ inaudible ] will come out. i don't see how he can't. he knows he has good capital. i think we're seeing this week the republicans are caving on it this week. taking your calls at 866-55-press. it is the "bill press show." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ [ voice of dennis ] indeed. are you in good hands?

>>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot. ♪

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> john: you are playing wang chung when i am here. i tell you i'm going to see bob dylan and you play wang chung -- [overlapping speakers] >> john: this is not even one of the finest records with one single and a lot of filler, this is wang chung, and they broke up last year, due to popular demand. i saw a poster for them opening for u-2 in like '81 somewhere in england. >> and that was the last time they were -- [overlapping speakers] >> john: peter you won't be here the rest of the week?

>> i won't, but you are in good hands. >> john: well we'll talk about what black friday means, talk about the real history of thanksgiving, not just what we're taught in school. and remember, now that twinkies are gone will it still get you off on a murder defense, and we'll talk about it on the "bill press show." i'm john fugelsang. such an honor being here. we'll see you tomorrow same time, same station. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." deep. like me. [ male announcer ] head & shoulders deep clean for men. ♪ ♪